Guest Speaker: Nurturing Respectful Relationships: Developing Tolerance & Empathy Through Circles for Learning
At a glance
Guest speaker
Alison Waterhouse
Webinar duration
2 hours
Suitable for
Thrive Licensed Practitioners
CPD
Worth 5 CPD points
Price per place
£78 excl. VAT
Course Outcomes
By the end of this session, you'll have a clear understanding of the Circles for Learning model and how it can be used to nurture respectful, inclusive classroom environments. You'll develop practical strategies to support children in building empathy, tolerance and emotional understanding, and gain confidence in facilitating reflective conversations that deepen emotional literacy.
You'll also leave with tools and approaches to help you embed a culture of belonging, where differences are recognised, valued and celebrated, and where every child feels seen, understood and supported in their learning and development
Who is it for?
This session is suitable for Thrive Licensed Practitioners working with both primary and secondary-aged pupils.
Introducing guest speaker: Alison Waterhouse
Alison has had an exciting and varied career in Education over the past 30 years. She has worked as a class teacher, SENCo, Head of Inclusion, Head Teacher in a therapeutic special school and in an alternative progressive school, Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant and Educational Psychotherapist. Alison was the founding head of a therapeutic special school in Kent and whilst working in the role trained at the Portman and Tavistock and then Caspari as an Educational Psychotherapist.
Alison decided to return to mainstream school where she worked as a Teacher in Charge of the Social and Emotional Needs of the Whole School Community (Best title ever!) Following this Alison became an Independent Consultant for SEN and Wellbeing; working for Young Minds; The Anna Freud Foundation and as an Advisor for Optimus Education advising schools on how to achieve their new Wellbeing Award.
Alison has been developing the Circles for Learning Project over the past 10 years. Through her work and research she identified 5 key areas that build positive foundations for mental health and wellbeing and has used the Circles for Learning work to build and develop these key areas in schools. Alison has had 9 books published by Routledge, with 5 forming the Mental Health and Wellbeing Teachers Toolkit. Books full of exciting lessons and activities for teachers to develop work around emotional literacy, self-awareness, relationships, the brain and skills for learning all of which underpin positive emotional wellbeing.
What you'll learn
In this session, you will explore how the Circles for Learning approach can be used to support children in understanding relationships, emotions and behaviour. You’ll learn how structured parent–child observations and follow-up activities can create meaningful opportunities for children to develop empathy, recognise different perspectives and build tolerance.
You will discover practical ways to:
- Facilitate reflective discussions that help children interpret emotions and behaviour
- Support pupils to understand and celebrate difference
- Develop a shared emotional language within your classroom
- Use observation and questioning to deepen your understanding of each child
- Embed activities that promote emotional literacy, self-awareness, relationships and inclusive behaviour
You’ll also gain access to a range of ideas and strategies that can be integrated into everyday practice, helping you create a classroom environment where children feel safe, valued and able to thrive.
Course structure
2-hour webinar.
Dates and times
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